Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta

I love the fall. I love fall and winter foods. As much as I love fresh fruits and veggies during the summer, nothing beats comfort food for me. I could eat soup, pasta, and casseroles every night of the week. My pants probably wouldn’t fit anymore, but I’d enjoy eating it!!

I picked up an issue of the Rachael Ray November magazine awhile back. I had heard that there was a recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies, so that is what I bought it for, but there are many recipes that I want to try! This recipe for pumpkin pasta was one that I marked, but when I saw her make it on 30 Minute Meals, I knew I had to try it out. It is called “Penne-Wise” pumpkin pasta – the “penne” meaning “penny” (it’s cheap to make) and the “wise” because it is fairly healthy. It combines some of the wonderful flavors that go well with pumpkin – cinnamon and nutmeg – and turns it into a wonderful pasta dish. It also uses sage. I don’t use sage very often, and I really don’t know why. I really liked the flavor of it in this dish – don’t skip this, because it adds a lot of flavor to the dish.

I just went to the Food Network website to get this recipe, and was reading through some of the reviews because it did not get very good ratings. Many complained that it was very bland – which is strange because I did not find it bland at all. I guess it just goes to show that everyone has different tastes!!

I’m a little behind the times, I guess, because I just discovered that fat free evaporated milk can be a great substitute for cream in recipes like this. It worked wonderfully, and made it even better for me!!

I did leave out the hot sauce, but totally on accident. My husband was in the kitchen, and I didn’t want him to see me put it in, because he thinks that he doesn’t like it, but when he walked out, I forgot to sneak it in. Oh well…

Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to the pan, saute 3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and combine with pumpkin, stir in cream then season sauce with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 to 6 minutes more to thicken. Stir in sage, toss with pasta with grated cheese, to taste.

Pumpkin with sage is a wonderful combination! The addition of nutmeg and cinnamon make it a perfect Fall and Winter dish. Thanks for this recipe, Deborah. I also want to thank you for all the times you’ve left me your comments. You have been a steady source of encouragement for me and I truly appreciate it.

I was planning on using some fat free evaporated milk instead of cream in a recipe I’m going to try, so I’m glad to hear that it worked for you. Hey – I read your post about your anniversary in Park City, and my husband and I are hoping to move there! Of course, that plan isn’t progressing as fast as we’d like, but we love it out there. And we don’t even ski!

Great minds think alike huh? I’ll have to try this one since the ravioli was such a hit. The whoopie pies are to die for! I blogged about them a little while ago…and I’m making them for Thanksgiving too….

I have been meaning to tell you that this was such a great dinner. I had a ton of pumpkin left over and was tired of sweets. Then I saw your wonderful post Mr. Gigi and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks a lot.

I love anything with pumpkin, so I had to try this recipe.Unfortunately, I found it to be really bland, too! I doubled the hot sauce and put in tons of spices, but that didn’t help. I did change a few things: I used vegetable broth instead of chicken (because that’s what I had on hand), so I’m sure that contributed to the blandness. I also had a big container of dried sage, so I used that… probably affected the taste, too.

Um, besides the fact that I didn’t enjoy this recipe, I do love your blog!